WASHINGTON — When President Bush visited Houston last week, he was surrounded by local politicians eagerly looking for federal assistance behind the destructive Hurricane Ike.

Most jockeyed for the prime, face-time positions next to Bush, the better to show constituents they had his ear. Only one stood conspicuously apart, either hunkered behind the scrum of other politicians or 20 paces out in front of Bush, but nearly always out of camera-range: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson.

The terrible aftermath of Ike presents an awkward conundrum for Paul.

The former Republican presidential candidate and staunch Constitutionalist has railed against government handouts, and yet his district was one of those hardest-hit by the storm.

On Wednesday, Paul voted against an appropriations bill that included $23 billion in disaster aid for victims of Ike. It was, on the surface, a stand on principle and against the interests of the people he represents.

Whatever Paul meant by it, the congressman and his office declined repeated requests from the Houston Chronicle to explain his vote.

In the end, the measure passed 370-58 in the House.

"In several disasters that have befallen my Gulf Coast district, my constituents have told me many times that they prefer to rebuild and recover without the help of federal agencies like FEMA, which so often impose their own bureaucratic solutions on the owners of private property," Paul wrote in a 2005 column.

Paul voted against government assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina and later told the Washington Post he had no regrets.

"Is bailing out people that chose to live on the coastline a proper function of the federal government?" Paul said. "Why do people in Arizona have to be robbed in order to support the people on the coast?"

So it was surprising to see Paul's partially obscured face in the clutch of politicians standing cheek-to-jowl while Bush announced federal reimbursement for the housing costs of those displaced by the storm, and federal funding for debris removal.

That, on top of a sizeable effort by FEMA to provide relief including ice, food and tarps. Why did Paul show up for Bush's photo-op if he didn't want federal help for his district?

He did vote for a disaster tax relief bill that will help individuals take expanded deductions, and allow businesses to write off demolition expenses, among other things.

"I've always been a big believer in the strength and ingenuity of the American people," Paul said in a statement released by his office.

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